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Introduction
In
the past few decades, interactive electronic media has grown from
virtual non-existence to one of the primary means of entertainment
for college students. In more recent years, the Internet has
completely changed the landscape of electronic media from something
individual and static into something with the potential to be
interactive and social. This article examines the effects of
increased student usage of traditional video games as well as online
games. The demographics of the typical game player will be examined
along with effects on the individual development and sociological
perceptions. This article will also look at the potential education
utility of video games and the effect of games on student engagement
and social development.

The
College Gamer

Recent
data from UCLA’s Higher Education
Research Institute provides useful information about video game usage
on college campuses. The data show that most college students have
played video games, many play them regularly, and a small percentage
use them as a primary means of entertainment and leisure. In the 2009
Freshman Survey, around 1% of respondents admitted to playing over 20
hours of videogames per week. Over 35% of the respondents stated that
they play at least one hour per week.

There
is an enormous gender disparity in the amount of time spend on
videogames. While less than 1 in 50 incoming freshmen women played
more than 10 hours of videogames per week, 1 in 10 males admitted to
doing this (UCLA Higher Education Research Institute, 2009). The
disparity increases with 10 times more males than females admitting
to playing more than 20 hours per week.

Video
game usage tends to drop significantly during the first year of
college. Over 7% more students report playing no video games at all
after the first year than they did at the start of their freshman
year. The same trend is seen at the extremes, with around 25% fewer
males admitting to playing more than 20 hours of videogames per week
(UCLA Higher Education Research Institute, 2009).

The
trend toward increased video game and other interactive digital media
usage does not appear to be going away. The upcoming college students
are even more likely to be tightly tied to their technology than
students are today. The current generation is exceedingly comfortable
with technology and electronic entertainment. One study noted that
the average American youngster now spends one-third of each day with
some form of electronic media (Escobar-Chaves & Anderson, 2008).

Psychological
Effects

There
is a large body of evidence which suggests that violent video games
lead to increased aggression and even violence. There is some mixed
evidence on the psychological effects of video game violence, but
Craig Anderson (2003) offers overall implications that can be reached
by looking at all studies that relate video games to risk factors:

Some
studies have yielded nonsignificant [sic] video game effects, just as
some smoking studies failed to find a significant link to lung
cancer. But when one combines all relevant empirical studies using
meta-analytic techniques, five separate effects emerge with
considerable consistency. Violent video games are significantly
associated with: increased aggressive behavior, thoughts, and affect;
increased physiological arousal; and decreased prosocial (helping)
behavior. (Anderson, 2003, Myths and Facts, para. 1)

In
another study which considers available research on media violence,
several relevant conclusions were reached (Anderson, et al., 2003).
It was found that there are “sufficient studies with sufficient
consistency” to back up several important findings (Anderson, et
al., 2003, p. 93). Video game violence is linked to aggression in the
short term. Cross-sectional studies have been able to show a
correlation between long term exposure to video game violence and
real world violence. A few longitudinal studies are also able to
suggest that video game exposure has long term effects on aggression.
It should be noted that Craig Anderson, one of the authors of this
study has been criticized for overstating the data on video games and
its link to aggression and violent behavior (Block & Crain,
2007).

A
study in 2008 considers the correlation between increasing
interactive digital media usage and unhealthful behaviors
(Escobar-Chaves & Anderson, 2008). The researchers looked at five
major areas of risky behavior. These include obesity, smoking,
drinking, violence, and early sexual activity. These categories were
chosen because the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
has identified these areas among the activities that “contribute to
the leading causes of death and disability in the United States among
adults and youth” (Escobar-Chaves & Anderson, 2008, p. 148).

The
study found that, in general, there is at least a modest link between
electronic media consumption and obesity, smoking, drinking, and
violence. The study focused largely on TV and movies as the basis for
the first three, but specifically mentioned the effect of videogame
violence as increasing the risks of violence in teens. The research
in this study concluded that “brief exposure to violent video games
increases aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior”
(Escobar-Chaves & Anderson, 2008).

Gender
Identity

Violent
videogames seem to affect men differently than women. One study of 43
undergraduate students yielded particularly interesting results. The
study used a nonviolent game (PGA Tournament Golf) as a control game,
and used Mortal Kombat as the violent video game (Bartholow &
Anderson, 2001). It then placed participants in different rooms and
told them that their reaction time would be measured. The
participants were able to “punish” their opponents by playing
extremely loud white noise over a speaker. The study found that men’s
aggression in the retaliation test was affected much more than
women’s. Admittedly, the study was small,
and it was difficult to choose games that were not inherently gender
biased already, but the study does still serve to show that in at
least some cases, men experience more added aggression than women
after playing violent videogames.

In
his book Die Tryin': Videogames, Masculinity, Culture, Derek Burrill
suggests that modern videogames have borrowed much of their material
from Hollywood. The player character in many games, referred to as
the avatar, is generally created to be at least somewhat superhuman.
Just like in movies, this portrayal of what an individual is supposed
to be contributes to identity development. Many games involve male
characters that are incredibly well built and tough, and female
characters that are physically attractive. As Burrill puts it, “in
short, avatars are sexy” (Burrill, 2008, p. 75).

A
1998 study examined 33 popular games of the time and found the
following:

This
analysis reveals that traditional gender roles and violence are
central to many games in the sample. There were no female characters
in 41% of the games with characters. In 28% of these, women were
portrayed as sex objects. Nearly 80% of the games included aggression
or violence as part of the strategy or object. While 27% of the games
contained socially acceptable aggression, nearly half included
violence directed specifically at others and 21% depicted violence
directed at women. Most of the characters in the games were Anglo.
(Dietz, 1998, p. 425)

The
study concludes that the portrayal of women in video games is
generally “stereotypical and traditional in nature” (Dietz, 1998,
p. 439). Another study in 2007 found that “hard-core gamers see the
average woman as much larger than do nongamers” and “body type
preferences for hard-core gamers possessed larger breasts than those
of nongamers” (Rask, 2007, p. 2). These findings indicate that
video games, like many other forms of mass media, are contributing to
the ongoing gender imbalances in our society.

Effects
related to learning

Playing
video games is often associated in our society with poor academic
performance. This anecdotal idea is supported by some research. A
2000 study found a negative correlation between GPA and time spent
playing video games (Anderson & Dill, 2000). The correlation was
relatively small. Time alone accounted for a 4% variance in GPA, yet
the findings are significant. However, several older studies contend
that the results of research have been mixed. A 1997 study suggests
that “there is no clear causal relationship between video game
playing and academic performance” (Emes, 1997, p. 413). It goes on
to say that the research is “sparse and contradictory” (Emes,
1997, p. 413).

The
effect that interactive digital media has on the learning process is
not completely negative. It is not that the medium itself is
inherently flawed, but much of the information that gets transmitted
through it may be. As was noted in a 2008 study on media attention
and cognitive abilities, “content appears to be crucial” (Schmidt
& Vanderwater, 2008, p. 63). If the content being consumed is
positive, then positive results can be expected. If the content is
negative, then negative results can be expected. The study examined
research from many sources in arriving at this conclusion.

There
is a movement to leverage video games as a part of the learning
process. A paper from EDUCAUSE suggests that faculty need be aware of
games that could be helpful to the in class learning experience
(Hitch & Duncan, 2005). It mentions using tactical and strategy
games to enhance the level of understanding and engagement with the
material. It specifically mentioned using Civilization IV, a game
which focuses on empire building and economies of scale to aid in the
understanding of history and economics.

A
2005 paper suggests that videogames are changing education and that
games are more than a simple form of entertainment (Shaffer, Squire,
Halverson, & Gee, 2005). It explains that student learning can be
enhanced by experiences in vast virtual worlds. These worlds can
allow students to interact as a community. Virtual worlds are useful
“because they make it possible to develop situated understanding”
(Shaffer, Squire, Halverson, & Gee, 2005, p. 106). This means
that students are able to actually experience and experiment with the
things that they are learning rather than simply being told them as
facts or equations.

Some
research concludes there is little evidence to suggest that
interactive media enhances the learning experience (Schmidt &
Vanderwater, 2008). Other sources have noted positive impacts on
student performance. One study of a game relating to numerical
analysis in an engineering curriculum found that “students
experienced significantly more intellectual intensity, intrinsic
motivation, positive affect and overall student engagement when
completing homework” (Coller & Shernoff, 2009, p. 315).
Research on the subject has been mixed, but it seems that video games
can have a positive effect on learning when used in particular ways.

Student
Engagement and Sociological Effects

Research
on the social effects of video games is also mixed (Allison, Wahlde,
Shockley, & Gabbard, 2006). Some studies have found that video
games are similar to addictions such as gambling which create
negative social effects. Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing
Games (MMORPGs) have been called “heroinware”
because they are “simultaneously competitive and highly social”
(Allison, Wahlde, Shockley, & Gabbard, 2006, p. 383). Other
studies have noted positive aspects of the games such as the ability
to experiment with aspects of individual identity which do not come
out in public.

MMORPGs
have been criticized for hampering academic and job performance. The
FCC has specifically accused World of Warcraft, one of the most
popular games, as leading to college dropouts (Somaiya, 2009).
Students can become obsessed with these games and become disengaged
from schools, friends, and life in general.

Video
games can also have positive social effects. One measure of this
which has significant research is that of prosocial behavior.
Prosocial behavior is defined as when one person acts to help
another. While research on this topic is mixed, there is evidence
that games which focus on prosocial behavior lead to prosocial
results (Schie & Wiegman, 1997).

One
recent study focused specifically on the effects of prosocial games
on undergraduate students (Gentile, et al., 2009). It was found that
playing prosocial video games significantly impacted the immediate
helpfulness of the player. As was expected from previous work by
Anderson and others, violent and neutral video games did not increase
the helpfulness of the test subjects.

Conclusion

It
is clear from the literature that the effect of video games on the
college campus is both positive and negative. Video games can
certainly lead to negative effects such as social isolation and
increased aggression, but they are going to remain a part of college
culture for the foreseeable future.

It
is important to understand the positive and negative aspects of video
games. Playing games socially as part of balanced lifestyle seems to
have some positive effects. Playing violent games is linked to
several negative problems. The portrayal of women in video games can
have a negative effect on the gender views of men and the identity
and self-worth of women.

Some
research has shown that video games may be one way to engage students
more in the learning process. This seems especially true in areas
involving analytical skills. They can contribute another way of
learning in addition to the many other pedagogical methods which are
currently popular. There is ongoing research on how to best leverage
games in education, if they should be used at all.
Students
and educators need to be aware of the dangers of excessive gaming. It
can have academic, social, and spiritual consequences.

Students have
been known to completely disconnect from their friends and
surroundings when playing games like World of Warcraft. As was shown
by several statistics presented earlier a small percentage of
students, especially men, spend a huge amount of time playing video
games. Balance needs to be emphasized as an important part of the
healthy Christian lifestyle, and video games are no exception.

Jonathan
Craton serves as the Graduate Assistant for Taylor University Online,
located in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

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